Gustave j



UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAVE J. GRIKELAIR, NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHING COMPOUND.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 278,315, dated May 29, 1883.

Application filed May Ill, 1882.

(No specimens.)v

used.for the purpose of extinguishing fire and preventing extended conflagration; and I hereby declare the following specification to bea full and clear description of the said invention and the manner of using the same.

The invention relates to that class of compounds which by their combustion absorb rapidly the oxygen in the air of a compartment, and at the same time evolve gases which smother the flames by their chemical action and the object of my invention is to produce a compound which will be non-explosive, veryefi'ective, and will burn gradually after ignition.

In preparing my compound I desire to have it, in its completed state, of the substance of a dry powder, so as to be easily handled and packed in boxes or cans of suitable size and shape and readily ignited by means of a fuse.

The principal ingredient of my compound is the crude nit-rate of soda, of which I take sixtythree parts. To this I add,in a suitable vessel for mixing, three parts of the oxide of iron and two parts of what is known as petroleumcarbon," to which are added two parts of woodcarbon or powdered charcoal and thirty-nine parts ofsulphur in powder. These ingredients are carefully and intimately mixed together in the dry state, and then packed in metal boxes of any desired size, into each of which is introduced a fuse which will burn readily.

The ingredient called petroleum-carbon is theproduct of the burned residuum in the refining of petroleum. I have procuredit from petroleum-refiners, or those connected with such refineries. In the process of distilling petroleum a coke is formed on the bottom of the still or evaporating-kettle, which, when finely pulverized, makes the substance known as petroleum-carbon.

I have found the most useful size of boxfor general purposes to be one that will contain from ten to fifteen pounds. The box should be coated with black asphaltum or similar substance, in order to prevent corrosion of the metal by the compound. I

In the use of my improved compound the quantity is regulated by the size of the room in which itis placed or used, and I have found that one pound, at least, will be required for each three hundred cubic feet of space.

The packages or boxes of compound may be placed in position in a room or apartment, and

arranged so that they will igniteautomatically in the event of accidental fire;'or they may be kept ready to throw into a building when on fire.

What I claim as my invention is A chemical compound for extinguishing fire, composed of sixty-three parts of crude nitrate of soda, thirty-nine parts of sulphur, three parts of oxide of iron mixed in a dry powder with two parts of petroleum-carbon, so called, and two parts of wood-carbon, substantially as described.

GUSTAVE J. ORIKELAIR.

Witnesses:

A. BELL MALeoMsoN, J r.,

A. P. BATES. 

